Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, Nov 14, 2015
Golden mahseer, Tor putitora Hamilton, one of the largest freshwater fish of the Indian sub-conti... more Golden mahseer, Tor putitora Hamilton, one of the largest freshwater fish of the Indian sub-continent, inhabits mainly Himalayan rivers in the foothills. Among numerous freshwater fishes of the sub-continent, Golden mahseer is the most striking due to its large size, attractive golden colour, sustenance and sporting values. Tor putitora is known by various common names such as king mahseer, mighty mahseer and the tiger of water. Being a migratory fish, Golden mahseer undertakes periodic upstream migration during pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons from large rivers and higher order streams in the foothills to lower order streams for spawning. In recent years, conservationists, anglers and commercial fishermen have expressed concern over the declining populations of Golden mahseer due to indiscriminate fishing of brooders and juveniles besides the adverse effects of dams. Despite its ecological and economic importance, specific conservation measures by way of protective legal provisos are lacking for Golden mahseer in India. In view of its physical features, ecology and vulnerable conservation status, there is an exigent need to promote the Golden mahseer as a flagship conservation species of the Himalayan rivers. In view of the recent reports of unprecedented river regulation projects on the Himalayan rivers and need to draw global attention of conservationists, we review various aspects of ecology, life history, interesting features, traits and threats associated with the reduced chances of survival of Golden mahseer.
Modeling Earth Systems and Environment, Aug 7, 2021
Formation of the Himalaya resulted from collision of the Indian and the Eurasian plates around th... more Formation of the Himalaya resulted from collision of the Indian and the Eurasian plates around the early Cenozoic (55–45 million years ago). Various geo-physical changes, namely disappearance of Tethys Sea, formation of land bridges and evolution of monsoon system followed the collision. These changes are cumulatively responsible for high plant endemism in the Himalaya. Here, we show that the high plant endemism in the Himalaya is likely linked to changes in geology, geomorphology and climate during the past millions of years. We used phylogenetic supertrees and ancestral area reconstructions to investigate the rates and biogeographic source areas of the Himalayan endemic plant species assembly through different geological time periods. Our results show that Eastern Himalaya (EH) harbors twice the number of plant endemics than the Western Himalaya (WH). The time-calibrated phylogenies revealed that maximum endemic diversifications of plant families in both the EH and WH occurred during 35–20 million years ago (Oligocene–Miocene), the period that coincided with evolution of the South West Asian monsoon. Further, the majority of plant endemics in the EH have ancestral lineages from South East Asian and Sino-Japanese regions. The WH endemic taxa have ancestor lineages from Southeast Chinese, Sino-Japanese, Irano–Turanian, and Central Asiatic regions. The high endemic plant diversity in the Himalaya is a result of immigration of ancestral lineages from the neighboring regions followed by their local radiations and diversifications after the formation and intensification of monsoon system.
Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, Nov 14, 2015
Golden mahseer, Tor putitora Hamilton, one of the largest freshwater fish of the Indian sub-conti... more Golden mahseer, Tor putitora Hamilton, one of the largest freshwater fish of the Indian sub-continent, inhabits mainly Himalayan rivers in the foothills. Among numerous freshwater fishes of the sub-continent, Golden mahseer is the most striking due to its large size, attractive golden colour, sustenance and sporting values. Tor putitora is known by various common names such as king mahseer, mighty mahseer and the tiger of water. Being a migratory fish, Golden mahseer undertakes periodic upstream migration during pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons from large rivers and higher order streams in the foothills to lower order streams for spawning. In recent years, conservationists, anglers and commercial fishermen have expressed concern over the declining populations of Golden mahseer due to indiscriminate fishing of brooders and juveniles besides the adverse effects of dams. Despite its ecological and economic importance, specific conservation measures by way of protective legal provisos are lacking for Golden mahseer in India. In view of its physical features, ecology and vulnerable conservation status, there is an exigent need to promote the Golden mahseer as a flagship conservation species of the Himalayan rivers. In view of the recent reports of unprecedented river regulation projects on the Himalayan rivers and need to draw global attention of conservationists, we review various aspects of ecology, life history, interesting features, traits and threats associated with the reduced chances of survival of Golden mahseer.
Modeling Earth Systems and Environment, Aug 7, 2021
Formation of the Himalaya resulted from collision of the Indian and the Eurasian plates around th... more Formation of the Himalaya resulted from collision of the Indian and the Eurasian plates around the early Cenozoic (55–45 million years ago). Various geo-physical changes, namely disappearance of Tethys Sea, formation of land bridges and evolution of monsoon system followed the collision. These changes are cumulatively responsible for high plant endemism in the Himalaya. Here, we show that the high plant endemism in the Himalaya is likely linked to changes in geology, geomorphology and climate during the past millions of years. We used phylogenetic supertrees and ancestral area reconstructions to investigate the rates and biogeographic source areas of the Himalayan endemic plant species assembly through different geological time periods. Our results show that Eastern Himalaya (EH) harbors twice the number of plant endemics than the Western Himalaya (WH). The time-calibrated phylogenies revealed that maximum endemic diversifications of plant families in both the EH and WH occurred during 35–20 million years ago (Oligocene–Miocene), the period that coincided with evolution of the South West Asian monsoon. Further, the majority of plant endemics in the EH have ancestral lineages from South East Asian and Sino-Japanese regions. The WH endemic taxa have ancestor lineages from Southeast Chinese, Sino-Japanese, Irano–Turanian, and Central Asiatic regions. The high endemic plant diversity in the Himalaya is a result of immigration of ancestral lineages from the neighboring regions followed by their local radiations and diversifications after the formation and intensification of monsoon system.
Uploads
Papers by Maharaj Pandit